Discovering a bird's nest has always been a remarkable event. Whereas in the past it might have
delivered the prospect of food, companionship, or a potential hunting partner, today it can deliver
both an opportunity for wonder and speculation about the magical character of nature and a
chance to reflect upon how we, as its stewards, have maintained an implied covenant with its most
vulnerable constituents.
Like the individual in the narrative, many of us have come upon a bird nest and marveled. Using
only their beaks and legs, birds create a striking array of shapes and complex structures, each
satisfying the unique needs of a particular species. The scale and complexity of avian architecture
varies with the size of the bird. Nests go well beyond simple agglomerations of sticks and are
created by the careful arrangement of elements, based on a fundamental interlacing technique of
weaving linear materials in an over-and-under pattern to create form.
How did our predecessors act on their musings about the natural world-about nests in particular?
Is it possible that, as described in the scene above, bird nests inspired the shape and media of some
early basketry? The physical manifestations of a variety of cultures' containers seem to begin with
and reflect nest forms. Nests may have been examined, deconstructed physically, and then
reconstructed as baskets using materials more suitable to a particular purpose.
Techniques of construction grew in complexity and sophistication as they were constantly revised.
Intuitive responses to materials and the gradual refinement of visual suggestions gave rise to the
incorporation of images into the weave and the application of graphic, symbolic, and sacred
elements onto the surface, embellishments that carried more than decorative significance. Over
generations, complex forms and image systems evolved, resulting in a richly varied yet formally
consistent iconography of geometric signs, symbols, and patterns in use throughout the world.
Origins of Basketmaking
Adrienne Zihlmann is among a group of anthropologists who suggest that early hominid societies
be termed gatherer/hunters instead of the more accepted hunter/gatherers. She points out that
"with containers, our early ancestors could bring home and share caches of berries, nuts and roots,
rather than eat them 'on the spot,' like other animals." Containers, such as hollowed gourds, animal
bladders and stomachs, pouches, and baskets, would be a boon for the transport of food and water
to groups who were nomadic in lifestyle. Narrow-necked baskets waterproofed with pine pitch
would lend gatherers extra mobility in their search for provisions. With the rise of organized
agriculture, basketry represented an important asset. Without the presence of utilitarian containers,
there would have been limited means of long-term storage for the large caches of foodstuffs that
were the result of agricultural production.
Unfortunately for anthropologists, the very characteristics of the materials that inspired early
baskets-grasses, reeds, and sticks, which were readily available, lightweight, and easily
manipulated-made them very susceptible to the ravages of time. The best-preserved evidence for
early basketry is found in very wet, even submerged, conditions or in dry caves and shelters, such
as those of Mexico and the American West.
Worldwide, the earliest evidence for the use of basketry comes from an area in Yugoslavia and
dates to roughly 30,000 years ago. Some archaeologists suggest that early societies employed
baskets extensively. Among them is James Mellaart, who bases this position upon his examination
of silica sheen remaining on what he terms ancient "reaping knives." Certain types of vegetable
material, such as seed-bearing plants and tall grasses, contain significant amounts of silica, which
leaves behind a clear, hardened residue on a cutting implement used over an extended period. It
would not have been long before early agriculturalists used the large quantities of straw leftover
from the harvest to expand basketry production.
North America's most ancient basket remains are between seven and nine thousand years old. Did
early Native Americans bring a basket-making technology with them as they crossed the Ice Age
land bridge onto the continent? The high degree of technical development displayed in the earliest
examples of basketry yet found on this continent hint at this possibility.
As the making of baskets was incorporated into the lifeways of early peoples, need, diligence,
creativity, and curiosity were the driving forces behind innovation. Their significance can hardly be
ignored. Notes author Jack Lenor Larsen in his book Interlacing: the Elemental Fabric:
Plaiting in systemic rhythms to achieve a regularity of form demanded such a strong sense of
discipline that the development of interlacing may be considered as a symbol of human triumph
over the vagaries of nature and life itself. Creating the means of patterning and its imagery required
ingenuity and control. Development of the finished basket rim and the handle were supreme
technical feats. Each transition increased the complexity of structure and form. Intellectual acumen
and manipulative skills grew in the process.
Just as curiosity may have spurred the initial emergence and development of container forms
designed for specific purposes, it may have also sparked early forays into the creation of imagery
and pattern motifs.
In making the stitches with strands of different shades...quaint figures necessarily were produced
on the surface of the basketry, by the appearance and disappearance of the discolored splints.
From the haphazard alternations of color doubtless came the first rude suggestions of design,
dark and light regularly alternating in bands.
G. Wharton James, Native American Basketmaking, 1901
Like daydreamers who watch clouds pass overhead, making up stories about the nimbus parade of
mythical beasts, early peoples may have "seen" figures implied in certain arrangements of grasses
woven into a basket wall. Astute designers would then have explored techniques to develop
specific imagery and coloration: exposing the grass to smoke, thus shifting the value; adding
vegetal or mineral dyes; or burnishing certain surfaces with a hard, smooth tool. Over generations,
a dynamic vocabulary of visual forms emerged pan-culturally, with many of the motifs developing
independently beyond geographic and cultural boundaries.
Echoes of these ancient motifs can be seen in the "Greek Key" or "Chinese Fret" patterns found on
artifacts from Kiev, the Ukraine, to baskets woven by the Tlingit Indians of the Northwest Coast.
This meandering motif appears time and again. Anthropologist Gene Weltfish asks if we should
"look to mat weaving for the original [pattern]" and compares these motifs to elemental interlaced
technologies where the graphic, diagonal hatching acts as an abstract sign for woven materials.
Further confirmation of the enduring nature of this pattern can be found as nearby as the monitor
of your personal computer: the Windows 95 operating system includes among its selections of
background screen designs a pattern entitled "key," which includes a repeating key motif.
Contemporary Adaptations: Beyond Function
Sensitized to environmental issues such as biodiversity, and championing a philosophy of pluralism
facilitated by the media age, a cadre of contemporary artists references elements of nesting
technology and ethnographic basketry in both the concept and construction of their works. Their
art reflects a renewed appreciation for the ability of certain species to sustain their existence amid
the helter-skelter depletion of open lands and rain forests alike. These artists celebrate the
continuity of life on the planet with sculptural meditations upon natural forms that articulate
distinctive visual sensibilities.
Contemporary artists frequently appropriate techniques and ideas from a variety of sources to
realize their particular visions. Often, they will forge new approaches that stretch the limits of their
materials physically and alter our perceptions of them conceptually. Modern Illinois
artists-basketmakers and sculptors alike-draw inspiration in a surprisingly direct way from the
natural world and from earlier, less technologically dependent cultures. The resulting objects have
their roots in elemental systems of fabrication and the artists' experience of the natural world.
Many times this interest in natural form stems from a
concern about the disappearance of an "authentic" experience of nature. Nature, as defined here, is an unrestrained force with which
humans coexist instead of dominate. Barbara Cooper's sculpture Ova springs from this impulse.
Touching lightly upon a variety of visual reference points, the work's densely wrapped form
appeals to us in its familiarity and holds our attention with its many contradictions. Does it
represent male or female? Growth or decay? Heroism or submission? Schooled as a sculptor and
utilizing veneer discarded in the furniture-manufacturing process.
Cooper articulates in the concept
and execution of this work issues clearly reflected in her words:
My sculptures have evolved from the extended study of plants, seed pods, bones, and shells.
They are an attempt to connect my own phases of growth and need for support and protection with
what I have observed in nature. My work is inspired by the integrated order that exists throughout
the natural world where elements evolve for their essential qualities of function while
simultaneously becoming forms of sublime beauty |
Ova.
1994. Wood, 74X34X40".
Photo by Dean Jacobson.
|
From Limb to Limb
The notion that nature and contemporary art exist in mutually exclusive domains is a
misconception that fails to recognize the essence of some of today's most intriguing work by artists
and artisans. The exhibition From Limb to Limb and its ancillary programs seek to dispel this
misconception by establishing a dialogue, promoting links, and building respect between nature
enthusiasts, contemporary art aficionados, and the public at large. Through its novel presentation
of natural, ethnographic, and contemporary objects the exhibition seeks to illustrate a deeply
rooted, recurring, tie between the natural world and the creative moment and asks the viewer to
reexamine the interrelationships of art, nature, and human culture.
Geoffrey Bates, ISM Assistant Curator of Art, Lockport Gallery
